Category Archives: meetings and events

from 1 January 2009 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

“Reasonable Accommodation”

A seminar on the CRPD was held by the Japan Disability Forum (an alliance of the major disability-related organizations of Japan) on Nov 29th at the Nadao Hall of the Japanese Council of Social Welfare at Kasumigaseki in Tokyo. The theme was “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will change our lives –how do we effectively utilize reasonable accommodation in our daily life?”

First, the Chairperson of the JDF Management Committee, Mr. Katsunori Fujii (Director of the Japan Council on Disability) reported on Japan’s situation regarding the conclusion of international human rights instruments such as the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenants on Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Mr. Fujii also reported on the contents of the recent meeting with the government regarding CRPD, as well as recent endeavors such as the results of local workshops and events hosted by JFD.

In the report, Mr. Fujii mentioned that the Japanese government seems to be considering the ratification of the Convention in the near future, but stressed that a superficial ratification without adjusting the laws in Japan to conform to the Convention would not be accepted. He pointed out that the key issue we have is how to reflect the principles of the Convention into the revision of the Fundamental Law for Disabled Persons and the Law for Supporting Independence of Persons with Disabilities.

Continue reading →

from 1 January 2006 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

436 Participants Gather for National Rally

Issues on needs assessment of people with hearing impairments

Participants listen attentively to discussions on the new law.

A total of 436 participants from all 47 prefectures in Japan attended the rally. The venue was practically packed and heated up by the energy of the participants.

The day started with an opening statement by Mr. Toyoki Ando, Director of Central Headquarters. After a report from Mr. Fujisaburo Ishino, General Secretary of the Central Headquarters, Mr. Hajime Tamura of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Assistant General Manager of the Social Participation Division of the Department of Health and Social Welfare for People with Disabilities and Social Support Bureau) gave a presentation on the “Law to support independent living of persons with disabilities” and its enforcement. Mr. Tamura explained that local administrations would be responsible for deciding the scale and budget allotment for executing the communication support program. He also explained the importance of needs assessment of beneficiaries, and emphasized that the role of the central government should not be that of a leader but a partner with local administrations in promoting social welfare programs. In response to a question from one of the participants regarding the social recognition and guarantee of sign language as a language, he agreed that there is a need to secure a support system for communication guarantee, and suggested a rearrangement of the support system to clarify “who is responsible and what means are going to be taken to guarantee communication support.”

Continue reading →

from July 2005 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

Learning from the Philippines

Dr. Liza B. Martinez giving her lecture

The “5th Japan Seminar on Sign Language Studies” (hosted by the Japan Institute for Sign Language Studies [JISLS] of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf [JFD]) was held on June 12 at the National Center of Sign Language Education (at Community Sagano in Kyoto), attended by about 60 people from all over Japan.

After greetings from the representative of the hosting organization [JISLS] and the President of the local Deaf Association, the honorary guest, Ms. Liza B. Martinez, Ph.D., Director of the Philippine Deaf Resource Center (hearing), gave her keynote presentation entitled, “Filipino Sign Language: Understanding the Past and Looking to the Future”. In this presentation, Dr. Martinez introduced the experiences of the Philippine Deaf community in Deaf research and advocacy.

Continue reading →

from Nov. 15 2002 Issue of Japanese Deaf News, JFD’s monthly newspaper:

Attended by 2,400 People from 55 Countries

Panel to discuss the Asian and Pacific Decade
(October 23rd 2002, Big-I)

Following the 6th World Assembly of DPI, the Osaka Forum was held for 3 days from October 21 to 23. The Osaka Forum was one of the main events to mark the end year of the “Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993~2002”. The Osaka Forum meetings were held in 3 venues: the Osaka International Convention Center, the Osaka City Maishima Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities (Amity Maishima), and the International Communication Center for Persons with Disabilities (BiG-i) in Sakai-shi.

Under the main theme, “Partnerships for Disability Rights”, 4 large conferences were held as part of the Osaka Forum: the 12th Rehabilitation International (RI) Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference, the Campaign 2002 to Promote the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (RNN), the 25th National Rehabilitation Conference, the International Research Meeting on Vocational Rehabilitation. The Osaka Forum was attended by about 2,400 people from 55 countries, including persons with disabilities, rehabilitation specialists, and others. The participants evaluated the experiences and achievements accumulated by the countries of the region during the Decade, and discussed the issues which still remain to be solved. The polices for the second A/P Decade were also discussed, as well as the regional involvement for the realization of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Continue reading →